Cargo volume handled at national trade ports in the third quarter this year fell 1.1% from a year earlier. While export-import cargo volume was the same as a year earlier, coastal cargo volume decreased.
According to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, third-quarter cargo volume this year was 390.28 million tons, down 1.1% from a year earlier. Export-import cargo volume was 336.68 million tons, similar to last year, but coastal cargo volume fell 7.4% to 53.60 million tons.
Third-quarter container cargo volume this year was 7.9 million TEUs (1 TEU is one 20-foot container), up 0.7% from a year earlier.
Total export-import cargo volume rose 0.8% to 4.38 million TEUs. Export cargo volume increased 1.8% from 2.17 million TEUs a year earlier to 2.21 million TEUs. Exports to the United States fell 5.8%, while exports to China rose 7.0%.
Import cargo volume was 2.17 million TEUs, down 0.3% from 2.18 million TEUs a year earlier. Imports from China also increased 6.8%, but imports of U.S. products fell 7.1%.
Transshipment cargo volume rose 0.6% to 3.47 million TEUs. Transshipment cargo to Canada (26.0%) and Chile (44.5%) increased, while the United States fell 2.0%.
Korea Maritime Institute (KMI) said, "Due to a base effect from the Chuseok holiday in Oct., third-quarter export-import cargo volume turned to growth from a year earlier, but it is difficult to see it as a full-fledged recovery." It added, "As uncertainty over U.S. tariff policy has persisted, early-shipment demand ended, slowing the third-quarter transshipment growth trend."
Third-quarter non-container cargo volume was 253.32 million tons, down 1.5% from 257.10 million tons a year earlier. Pyeongtaek-Dangjin Port and Incheon Port increased, while Gwangyang Port and Ulsan Port decreased.
Among non-container cargo, automobiles rose 1.8% to 24.05 million tons, while steel fell 14.4% to 15.83 million tons.
Minister Jeon Jae-su of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said, "With uncertainty remaining in the global trade environment, container cargo volume increased in the third quarter following the first half, driven by growth in export-import and transshipment cargo." She added, "However, the growth rate is slowing compared with a year earlier, and we will keep a close watch on market conditions."